Red rose blues - Joe Ashton

Joe Ashton started work in a Sheffield steel factory at the age of 15. There, alongside thousands of others, he learnt to hate the bosses, the ruling classes and those who made their lives so hard and the world such a mess. This lit an old Labour fire in Joe Ashton's belly, one that would steer him into Parliament in 1968 and keep him there for over thirty years.This irreverent memoir, full of hilarious and outrageous stories, is also passionate and heartfelt. It is compelling reading for anyone interested in Parliamentary life during a period when the political map has been redrawn again and again.'Joe Ashton takes the reader on an authentic and sometimes hilarious tour of the steel mill, the local party rooms, the whips' office and the chamber of the House. He's Labour's answer to Alan Clark.' Simon Hoggart'Read this carefully. Joe is a shrewd observer and a canny prophet.' Richard Whiteley